Ep#116  What you need to know before hiring your first (or next) team member

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How do you know when you’re ready to make your first or next hire? And if you are, how do you know which role to hire for and whether to hire a permanent employee or outsource to a virtual assistant or part time contractor?

In this episode, I am going to share the number one tool that will help you answer these questions and make the process of growing your team (which doesn’t only mean permanent employees) less stressful and more impactful on the overall success of your business.

Side bonus: this tool will also help you free up at least 5 hours a week in your schedule.

If you’re thinking you aren’t ready to make that first hire yet, this tool is useful for ANY stage of business and especially in the earlier stages because it is going to help you get focused and ensure that your time is going where it makes the biggest impact..

In a recent coaching call, one of my clients shared something that raised a few red flags and I wanted to bring this to the podcast so that you can learn from it and hopefully save yourself a lot of headache and frustration as you grow your business. 

My client has had a lot of growth over the last couple of years as more and more businesses outsource professional services rather than keeping things in house…which is great BUT she is working 12-14 hour days as a result of the workload. She has recognised that she needs help. On the call, she said: ‘I think it’s time for a full time personal assistant”.

This reason why this statement made my ears perk up was because she was making a really big decision based off a gut feeling rather than gathering the right information so that she could make an informed decision.

You’ve probably also heard business gurus chant the mantra: ‘Hire fast, grow fast.’ It sounds appealing, right? 

Hiring can be a very expensive and frustrating trap if you don’t do it right.

Most business owners who come to me for help with their business systems and efficiency are in the same boat as this client. They love what they do and they’re not afraid of pulling up their sleeves and getting to work but they are on the verge (sometimes even past the point) of burnout. And it’s because they are approaching growing their team from the wrong perspective AND with the wrong information.

And it’s not your fault. We have never really been taught what information we need before we hire and we also have been ignoring the mind drama that comes with letting go and building a team effectively. Because it’s hard making the mental shift! This business is our livelihood and we don’t want some person sweeping in and making a mess of everything we’ve worked so hard to build.

It begins with doing everything yourself. You’re the marketer, the accountant, the front-line worker – you name it. It’s all on you. We have more time than we have money. And because we can’t afford to pay for help we spend our own time and we do the thing ourselves until the business is able to consistently pay someone. Some business owners never get out of this first phase because they don’t think they can afford it even if they can. Because they don’t know what the true value of their time is as the business owner…but that’s an episode for another day.

For some, there comes the realization - those 12-14 hour days are unsustainable and really unhealthy. You’re overworked, stretched thin, and something’s got to give. You’ve either recognised that you’re going to burn yourself out (perhaps you even have and that was you wakeup call) or You’ve hit that income ceiling. You don’t have more hours to sell and so you make the decision to hire in the hope of freeing up some time in your schedule. So you start looking for a mini you. Because you think the answer lies in cloning yourself. 

So, you make that first hire. There’s a brief sigh of relief. But it’s short-lived. Why? Because, as the business owner, you’re still in the driver’s seat for every decision. You’ve handed off tasks, but you haven’t handed off authority. And in the beginning we liked this. We like that they come to ha for all the answers. It makes us feel important and also…we 're new and still learning so it’s natural. But…the questions never stop and You find yourself distracted, overseeing every move this team member makes.

“Things were simpler when it was just me.’ No one can do what I do.

No one cares as much about my business as I do.

Why should I pay an employee if it’s easier and faster to just do it myself?

We fire the team member and search for productivity solutions because if I can just do things faster then this won’t be a problem anymore. And just like that we’re back to that first phase. Burning the midnight oil and doing everything ourselves.

If it feels like I am speaking to your soul right now I want you to know that you’re not alone. This is the story of so many business owners all around the world. And there is nothing wrong with being the linchpin for a while. We all go down that path. But you and I both know that if we want to truly create and experience the time and financial freedom we dreamed of when we felt stuck in that nine to five…we have to find a better way. And there is a better way. Before we skip to the solution. We need to understand why we stay stuck in this pattern of overworking and why most businesses never become truly independent from us, the owners.

Firstly, We don’t consider the mindset shift we need to make in order to delegate effectively and embrace our role as the CEO.

Shifting our thinking from being the doer in our business to being the CEO is really hard! We started something from scratch and we put all our blood sweat and tears into it. We have become used to the monster. We’re not even entirely sure who we would be without it. We need to let go of the badge of honor we so proudly wear because we’re always so busy and our business needs us. If you're the linchpin in your business or in other words: you ARE the business, then you’re trapped. That time freedom you desired when you started this thing is just a distant dream that won’t get any closer no matter how big your team is. Unless we can shift our perspective on what our most impactful role is.

Secondly, we use burnout as the driving force behind when and who we hire.

Whenever we make a decision from a negative emotional state, we’re usually making impulsive decisions on a whim rather than using the right information or data to drive those decisions. We want to hire the right person for the right role at the right time. And in order to do that, we need the right information. 

Thirdly, when we do break out of the “I can sail this ship by myself” thinking and we do hire or outsource we still stag stuck in decision mode, never truly delegating because our team members aren’t empowered to take ownership and responsibility for the tasks that we have handed over.

This is a hard place to be. Because now you have the added pressure of paying someone to take tasks off your plate but also the pressure of micromanaging and making every single call for this person because True delegation hasn’t occurred. You haven’t empowered your team to make decisions. You’re not just overseeing tasks; you’re shouldering all the strategic decision-making. This not only overburdens you but also stifles your team’s potential to grow and contribute meaningfully.”

So, how do you break free? I wish I could give you a quick Monday Makeover and fix this for you in an afternoon. But that’s not possible. It’s a gradual shift that starts with understanding that building a business that doesn’t need you at the center of it is actually where true freedom lies. 

On a more practical note…it’s also knowing what needs to be transferred off your plate so that you can focus on the things inside your business that lights you up. 

It’s about shifting from: I have to do it all because this is my baby to working in and on the business because you WANT to and not because you need to. It’s the work very few have the persistence to do and one of the reasons why most small businesses don’t survive.

So, let’s discuss the tool I use with my private clients to help them understand where they are spending their time and also help you clarify whether it is time to hire or outsource. And more importantly, it will tell you exactly what you need to delegate that will make the biggest impact not only in your business but also for you!

Time Tracking.

Time Tracking is your crystal ball. It shows you exactly where your time is going, what you can stop doing, what to do less of, what you can or want to transfer/delegate to that potential new team member (or someone that is already on your team. It will help you to identify exactly where you need help, even if you’re not going to outsource or hire immediately. It will give you the information you need to plan for it.

One of my favorite benefits of doing the time tracking exercise is that it empowers you to get back to the things that excite you about your business. Allowing you to do more of what you love and that adds value to your business in new and exciting ways.

We’re so used to tracking our financial data. Tracking your time is equally if not more important than tracking your money. Because how you’re spending your time. The things that are getting your attention and energy daily…that drives the entire business. It also fuels how you feel about your business. Which has an impact on everything.

How To Time Track:

1. Track your business activities for 3-5 days. Noting down what activity you spent time on as well as how much time (hours or minutes) you spent doing it. (The longer you track the more information you’re going to have.) To get this most out of tracking your time, it’s important to understand that this is not a one and done exercise. Do this for yourself (and your team) once a quarter so that you can continuously shift closer to your ideal workload and roles. 

2. Be specific about the activities you’re doing. Don’t just capture “I read emails for 20 minutes. Be specific about the type of emails. Example: I spent 20 minutes answering client support questions or I spent 20 minutes writing sales emails. We want to be specific so that we can get specific about what we might want to delegate and also how much time that person would need to allocate to this specific task or free up if it’s something you want to transfer to a current team member.

3. Track business related distractions. Your life isn’t a distraction. We want to capture those distractions that took you away from completing a planned action inside your business. An example could be that you planned to post content to social media but you got lost in the social scroll hole instead of posting and getting out!

4. At the end of the week, debrief on the information you’ve gathered. I have shared the debrief questions I use with my clients so that you can make the most of the information you’ve collected during the tracking exercise and apply what you’ve learned in your business. Be sure to grab your copy of the Debrief Questions pdf so that you can make the most of the information you have gathered.

Doing this exercise will show you where your time is going. Most often, we don’t like what we see. Tracking your time is also not necessarily the most fun activity you could be doing but it will be the most impactful. Remember, we cannot make effective decisions as owners if we don’t have the information. 

If you’re serious about building a business that can run without you…or at the very least create space for you to live and enjoy more outside of business…this is where you need to start.

Completed your time tracking exercise? Head over to Instagram and share what you’ve discovered by sending me a DM @ilonkarascoaching.

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